Does the world need another Lethal Weapon film? It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia firmly believed so and Fox is hoping you’ll fall head over heels for their small screen reboot, but how would you feel about a proper Lethal Weapon 5 motion picture? If you’re feeling lukewarm on the idea, Shane Black’s treatment for another Lethal Weapon might convince you that the cinematic side of the franchise might not be getting too old for this sh*t.
(Legal Note: All Lethal Weapon coverage is required by international law to run the “getting too old for this sh*t” line into the ground and grind it into a fine powder. We apologize for inconvenience.)
Black, who wrote the first two Lethal Weapon movies and is currently promoting his latest big screen effort The Nice Guys, was on the Nerdist Writer’s Panel Podcast and offered up loads of insight into his work and outlined what’s like navigating hazards like studio notes from the higher-ups. He also revealed his vision for Lethal Weapon 5 which sounds pretty darn good. No youth movement here, just Mel Gibson and Danny Glover whooping more ass. (But probably with like a scarf and mitts on.)
“I wrote a 62-page treatment with my friend Chuck for “Lethal Weapon 5” that would’ve been, I think, a very good movie. It was interesting. It was essentially an older Riggs and Murtagh in New York City during the worst blizzard in east coast history, fighting a team of expert Blackwater guys from Afghanistan that’s smuggling antiquities. And we had a young character that actually counter-pointed them. But I didn’t wanna do what people do when they’re trying to transition which is, they sorta put the two older guys in the movie, but really it’s about their son! And he’s gonna take over and we’re gonna do a spinoff. F*ck that, if they’re gonna be in the movie, they’re gonna be in the movie — I don’t care how old they are.”
Take that, whippersnappers! Black’s idea for a fifth entry could have definitely made for a stellar action offering if Hollywood elected to crank it out, but we’ll have to wonder what might have been. (Or maybe it’ll be kept in an “In Case Of Emergency” glass case to be smashed into at a later date.)
One complicated aspect of putting another Lethal Weapon film together is the public’s relationship with Mel Gibson after his stretch of being recorded making wildly inappropriate statements. In an interview with Business Insider, Black defended Gibson while noting that the actor-director has “essentially been blacklisted in the industry.”
I’ve always been a tremendous fan of Mel Gibson not just as an actor but I think he’s a good guy. I’ve said it before, but on the record I just don’t believe in holding anyone accountable for something that they say while they’re drunk, because if I’m drunk I’m going to be deliberately belligerent, first off. I’m going to say something that I know will piss you off and will delight in the fact that I’m destroying the house and burning it down. That’s what drunk people do. So the idea that that’s truly who a person is when he’s had a few, I don’t believe that at all. I just think that’s wrong. I know a lot of great people and they are not necessarily great when they’re drunk. So I don’t trust that.
Shane Black’s The Nice Guys is currently in theaters. Our Mike Ryan has very nice things to say about the motion picture.
(via /Film)
